Sliding-door mechanism



(No Model.)

0. P. SKILLING.

SLIDING DOOR MECHANISM. No. 578,681. Patented Mar. 9, 1897.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

OHAUNCEY F. SKILLING, OF LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.

SLIDING-DOOR MECHANISM.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N0. 578,681, dated March. 9, 1897.

I Application filed August 12,1895. Serial No. 559,078. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, CHAUNCEY FITCH SKIL- LING, a citizen of the United States, residing at the city of Los Angeles, in the county of Los Angeles and State of California, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Sliding-Door Mechanism, the same being applicable for sliding windows and for analogous purposes, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description or specification, reference being had to the accompanying sheet of drawings and to the letters thereon.

My invention primarily consists of a parallel-motion mechanism to which sliding doors, sliding windows, or other analogous sliding objects, hereinafter, for the sake of brevity, called sliding doors, are attached and whereby the said doors are supported, by which arrangement the ordinary runninggear on the top and sometimes on the top and on the bottom of sliding doors is dispensed with, and the rail or rails upon which such doors slide are also got rid of.

- Under my improved parallel-motion mechanism the upper edge of the door is arranged to slide between two parallel guides, and the lower part of the doorway is perfectly flush or level with the floor of the apartments or building wherein such door is affixed, so that there is no interference of the level of the floor by means of rails or other upward-projecting obstructions or downwardly-projecting depressions.

Figure 1 is a front elevation of the side of a room whereinmy improved sliding door and the mechanism for operating it are shown, a portion of the plaster being cut away in order that the parallel-motion gear mechanism may be distinctly seen. Fig. 1 is a horizontal section on the lines a a, Fig. 1. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of a rail whose surface is placed slightly above the level of the fioorway and within the space between the plaster of the inside and the outside of the wall whereinto the sliding door passes when the doorway is opened. Fig. 3 is an elevation of the attachment whereby the upper part of the sliding door is connected to the upper link of the parallel-motion gear. Fig. 4 is an elevation of the attachment whereby the lower part of the sliding door is connected to the lower link of the parallel-motion gear. Fig. 5 is a side elevation corresponding to Fig. 3, and Fig. 6 is a side elevation corresponding to Fig. 4.

In Fig. l of the annexed drawings the part marked A represents the plaster surface of the wall of the apartment whereinto my improved sliding-door mechanism is fitted. The sliding door itself is marked B, and it is connected at the upper part by the adjusting mechanism 0, thence by the link D to the upper arm E, attached, as shown in the drawings, to the upperparallel-motion toothed segment F.

The lower part of the door B has attached to it the adjusting-fittings G, by which it is connected to the link H and by the link H to the lower arm I of the parallel-motion mechanism. The arm I is attached to the lower parallel-motion toothed segment J.

The toothed segments F and .I gear into each other, as shown in the drawings, and are carried upon sufficiently strong metallic studs K and L, respectively, affixed into the metallic framework M, which is attached by screws or bolts to the studs N N of the build ing. From this arrangement it follows that when either of the toothed segments F or J moves in either a backward or forward direction the other toothed segment is equally moved in the same direction, the centers of connection of the two arms E and I being respectively equidistant from the centers of motion of the carrying-studs K and L.

As the arms E and I are respectively connected by the links D and H to the upper and lower parts, respectively, of the door B, in the manner shown on the annexed drawings, it follows that anysliding movement imparted to the door B, such, for example, as pulling the door open or pushing it to close the doorway by the application of the hand to such a handle as is usually applied or fixed to a door, causes the toothed segments F and J to rotate upon their axes, and also causes the links D and H, together with the door B, connected by the links D and H to the arms E and I, to move inward or outward, thereby producing a parallel sliding movement of the door B either in an inward or outward direction.

For the purpose of carrying the weight of the door B with as little friction and therefore with as little resistance to movement as possible the door B is mounted at its inner lower corner with an antifriction-roller O, which moves upon the rail P. (Shown in larger scale in Fig. 2.) I The roller 0 is carried in the attachment in the lower part of the lower attachment G, as particularly shown in Figs. 4 and 6.

With the object of still further reducing the aforesaid friction and resistance the outer end of the rail P is fitted with another antifriction-roller Q, which bears against the upper side of a groove formed in the lower edge of the door B, as indicated by the dotted line in Fig. 1. The inner end of the rail 13 is turned up, as more particularly shown in Fig. 2, to enable the inward motion of the door to be stopped without producing any jar or destruction of the parallel-motion mechanism.'

In order that the mechanism and the door may be arranged to move in perfect parallelism with each other, the connections 0 and G, respectively, by which the arms D and H connect the upper and lower parts of the door with the upper and lower arms E and I of the parallel-motion gear are made adjustable, as shown more particularly at Figs. 5 and 6.

The bracket-pieces C and G, which are respectively attached to the upper and lower parts of the inner edge of the door, have a tightening nut and bolt R, Figs. 3, 4, 5, and 6, attached to them, as shown, and on that part of the attachments O and G, respectively, there is a bracket S, formed with parallel slides or guides at the opposite sides thereof. Into and between the parallel sides of this bracket there is situated a sliding piece T with a slot therein, as shown particularly at Figs. 4 and 5, so that by tightening or loosening the nut R upon the bolt, which passes through the back of the projection and through the slot in the adjusting-piece, the position of the door 13 relatively with the parallel-motion gear may be adjusted with any degree of eXact-itude from time to time as required.

Having now described the nature of my said invention and the best system, mode, or manner I am at present acquainted with for carrying the same into practical effect, I desire to observe, in conclusion, that what I consider to be novel and original, and claim as the invention to be secured to me by Letters Patcut, is as follows:

' 1. The parallel-motion mechanism consisting of a pair of toothed segments, whose teeth are geared together, said segments being each formed with an arm, so that movement of either segment and its arm upon the axis thereof in one direction produces an equal or opposite movement of the other segment or arm on its axis in the opposite direction, the upper of said arms being connected to the adjusting device at the upper part of the inner edge of the sliding door, and the lower arm being connected to the adjusting device at the lower part of the inner edge of the sliding door, the door being supported upon the rollers and rail, so that by sliding movement bein g imparted to the door, or rotary movement being imparted to the circular toothed segments, there is produced a parallel motion of the said door, the whole operating together in the manner and for the purposes substantially as set forth.

2. The adjustable attachment at the lower part of the inner edge of the sliding door, for connecting said sliding door with the lower link of the parallel motion, the adjustment consisting of a bracket-piece, carrying the antifriction-roller at its bottom, and having horizontal parallel slides or guides, the sliding piece between said slides or guides,and formed with a slot, the bolt and nut, all operating together in the manner and for the purposes substantially as set forth.

8. In the sliding-door mechanism the combination of the rail with its inner end upturned, the antifriction-roller at the bottom of the door running on said rail, the antifrictiou-roller in the outer end of the rail for rotating by contact with and bearing upon it of the groove or rail in the under edgeof the sliding door, the said rail being placed in the lower part of the space within the wall whereinto the sliding door passes, all operating together in the manner and for the purposes substantially as set forth. 7

4. The combination of parallel-motion mechanism, sliding door, parallel attachments at the upper and lower parts of the sliding door, respectively, links for connecting the upper and lower attachments of the door with the upper and lower arms of the parallel-motion mechanism,the antifriction-roller in the lower adjusting attachment, the rail on which said roller operates, and the roller in the under end of said rail for carrying the weight of the sliding door antifrictionally, all operating together in the manner and for the purposes substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I'have hereunto set my signature in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

CIIAUNCEY F. SKILLING.

Witnesses:

H. S. ROLLINs, ST. JOHN DAY. 

